Netflix wants to offer the same content in each of the 50 countries it is available in.

CEO Reed Hastings told Gizmodo Australia the online media streaming service wants to stop subscribers pirating content because it is unavailable in their country.

Complicated licensing agreements mean different countries get different content on Netflix. This has led to subscribers using virtual private networks [VPNs] to watch movies and television series only available overseas.

Hastings said the solution to the VPN problem was for Netflix to make the same content available everywhere.

"The basic solution is for Netflix to get global and have its content be the same all around the world so there's no incentive to [use a VPN]," he told Gizmodo Australia.

However, he said VPN piracy played only a small part in piracy worldwide.

"The key thing about piracy is that some fraction of it is because [users] couldn't get the content. That part we can fix. Some part of piracy however is because they just don't want to pay. That's a harder part."

Worldwide content could be good news for Kiwi subscribers, who are currently unable to watch many television shows and movies available on Netflix overseas.

Netflix's New Zealand subscribers miss out on some new films and shows by Disney and Marvel, as well as cult comedy programmes and the new season of House of Cards.

However, universal content could be a long time away. To offer the same shows everywhere, Netflix would have to sign new global licensing agreements with film and television studios. This would mean a radical change for the way studios do business.

Netflix is now available in New Zealand for $9.99 per month in standard definition or $12.99 for high definition.

- Stuff